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Description

Located on Coney Island's upper tier, this route is located about 80 feet to the right of the hard sport route, Gagger. Start on a blocky ledge beneath the right end of a roof system and to the left of a broken, left-facing corner system. Climb past three bolts to a right-slanting crack/seam. Leave this at bolt seven and climb a series of steep headwalls with good rests in between. Eleven protection bolts total. Somewhat run-out for the 5.8 leader, the protection can be supplemented by carrying a set of Stoppers and a few small cams (a #2 Friend is useful for the final stretch to the anchors), though this is unnecessary for people climbing at harder grades. The climb ends at two Fixe rings at the 120-foot level. A 70-meter rope is needed to descend to the ground from here. There is an intermediate rappel/lowering station (two rings) at bolt six for those with a shorter rope. Three stars, relative to other Boulder Canyon sport routes, for length, steepness, and evenness at the grade.

Eds. this route's comment section has been the site for some submissions in the "don't be a jerk" range that has prompted "aggressive" deletions and editing. A line has to be drawn somewhere. Please refrain from further escalations. Thanks for your understanding & cooperation.

Protection

11 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor with rings. Intermediate rappel/lower station also has two rings. Optional stoppers and small cams will supplement the bolts.

Moderate climbing at the bottom which gradually gets harder the higher you go, with a crux around the 9th bolt. I placed a medium wired nut below the crux, and a #1 Camalot in the corner leading to the anchor.

A 70m rope is perfect; you can lower and touch down with several feet of rope to spare.

I looked at the photo and thought, "This is a trad climb!" So today I checked it out on self-belay. The bolts were useful...to find the start of the climb, to know when to leave the main crack system, and to rap from. Other than that the gear was straightforward except when first leaving the main crack. There, the first piece was trick, and the next piece was a fair microcam with optional long sling over horn backup. After that the gear is again straightforward.

The "this crag is all sport" excuse won't work, since there are, counting from Rolofson's version 1 guide, 5 all trad routes plus 1 variation here, plus there are 2 mixed bolt/gear routes, The Bait and Pri-Moe. The "needed cleaning" excuse won't work I think, since the FA party recommended bringing some trad gear (and so why not all trad?), and the cracks don't look like they were significantly cleaned.

As for quality, ignoring the sport vs trad issue and assuming this cleans up some, I still don't get the 3-star talk. I think it's a 1-star compared to other 2-star trad and sport climbs in this grade on this site.

As for difficulty - much easier than many Eldo 8s, and way easier than the Cozyhang (an alleged 7). Can't say relative to the 8 sport routes. Maybe comparable, but I can't remember the ones I've done so well.

If you're going to do this trad, bring nuts from big brass to about 3/4". Cams from micro to #2 Camalot with doubles from about 1" up. About 18-20 slings, including 5 or more full length, since you'll probably be using more pieces of gear than there are bolts. If you're a beginning trad climber, consider bringing a rack and clipping every other bolt.

The soil at the base is very loose and sandy. Tread carefully. Someone, the FA party presumably, thoughtfully constructed a nice but somewhat shaky platform at the base. There is a loose block that you'll be tempted to grab a few feet off the ground. It may be keyed in and safe, but it moves, so best to avoid it.

Climbed this route tonight. Long pitch, lots of easy climbing on good positive edges. But not sustained at the grade, one (8) move IMO. I placed a blue Alien above what I thought might be the crux move. Did throw a #2 Camalot high in the crack in the last 10'. FWIW, I would feel comfortable leading this trad with small wires and Aliens, and a #2, but I have no problem with the bolts, as I clipped them tonight. Without clipping bolts, this climb would be interesting for the grade. Will go back in daylight sometime to do just that.... One note...the breadbox-sized block 20' off the ground moved when I touched it, and if not removed, might injure or kill someone sooner or later....

A brilliant route in a beautiful setting. At this time of the year, it is in full sunshine in the morning. A classic fall day without a cloud in the sky complemented the route. What a find! Good job, Rick & Brian.

A silk purse from a sow's ear, Runaway is amazingly good given the nondescript terrain it covers. A reported 4 DAYS of cleaning brought the route to its current condition, which perhaps sheds some light on why our various vocal trads ignored the route until the bolts made it easy to locate.

Note to "but there's gear" activists: this route would *never* have been done ground up trad (not because it isn't possible, but because death blocks and moss aren't appealing). Now it's going to get climbed every weekend -good job, guys.

Stiff for the grade at the top crux - I'll call it old school 5.9+. Go do it.

Certainly the routes on Sleeping Beauty are great.Which 5.8 on Sleeping Beauty are you comparing this one to? There are few sport 5.8s around that are as good as this one. It is long with lots of climbing at a consistent grade. It gets full sun on cool fall days and no one else was there. I think it will be enjoyed by many. If you don't like it, don't go. I hope you did not use the convenience anchor when you climbed it trad.

I trundled the loose block just left of the first bolt today. It took only a slight push with my foot to send the block to the ground. There is now a nice flat ledge where the block was; this should make the move past the first bolt a little easier.

Climbed this today after waiting for the snow to melt off the approach. Definitely worth a visit. There are many thought provoking sequences separated by good rests. I also placed a #1 Camalot after the last bolt. Thanks to whoever took the time to clean up this route!

I had to park in the small pull-off that serves as the entrance to the parking/picnic area because the road down to the river was closed off with an orange fence. There is still enough room for 1 maybe 2 cars to fit safely.

Fun, not the most obvious moves near the top off the ledge...difficult O/S lead for me (for what that's worth). Placed several pieces (small to medium cams) between several of the bolts, including a small cam & a BallNut above the last bolt for the move to the anchors. Did it again on TR to pull the rope...MUCH easier and more enjoyable the 2nd time. I'm confident that when we get back up there it'll be a much easier lead. The base area really is quite loose- sandy and sloping...difficult to get a good place to stand where you can see the climber.

Be super carful on the approach! Everything is loose and one wrong step and rocks good careening down onto the road. Not a good place for climbing parties! Thought the approach was slightly easier on the east side then the west. But, I did not find well defined trail on either side.